We stayed in Collie farmhouse earlier this week. Our party of fishermen found it to be very comfortable, homely, and well appointed. In fact it feels more like a home than a rental property. We were also very well looked after by the owners who take a personal interest in making you welcome. I would recommend Collie Farmhouse to anyone looking for a great place to stay to explore the Spey valley. Whether fishing locally as we were, or as a base to visit any of Speyside's attractions, distilleries, etc, Collie farmhouse is an ideal place to stay.
lovely huge back garden, peaceful surroundings. We arrived for a 7 night stay after a long 7 hour journey. We payed a couple of thousand pounds for this week. We were expecting a big old fashioned farm house for our family full of charm and old fashioned character. It is a very large house. However, sadly it was very unclean. We expect an old house to have spider's, but the cobwebs were everywhere, in places easily reached with a duster. By the side of the bath where you would put your hand, in between the stair spindles, the backs of chairs, corners of every room. The carpets are full of stains, I'm sure a carpet cleaner would lift them off. The wall paper is stained and has had some drink spilt on it and left, multiple dead flies above a bed upstairs stuck on the wallpaper- when I told the cleaner of this she blamed a previous guest and said she could not get them off, I said a damp cloth would get them off! Then she did "manage" to wipe them away, pots and pans filthy with Greece, cooker hob was disgusting, full of old fat with a dead fly stuck onto it, again the cleaner said it was not her responsibility to clean the kitchen, but previous guests! Lazy!. Our bedding was absolutely disgusting, what looked like a huge patch of dried urine on it, again the cleaner said she was only told to change the bottom vallance every season! The mattress was so old and in disrepair, they had put a piece of MDF wood under it to give it more support! Why not buy a new one? They are charging enough for all these issues to be sorted. Personal family photos all around the house of children and wedding photos made it feel like we were staying in someone else's house rather than a holiday home. The furniture is old and dirty, stained with no softness to the seats any more. It has rips on one as well as yellowing to once a cream couch. The oven doesn't close properly, only one dish washer works,and the bedroom furniture is old and difficult to open draws etc. We were told on arrival to be careful of one of the blinds, which indeed broke. Dead flies lined the window cills, and generally the house lacked care. The kitchen utensils and pans etc all dirty with Greece. TV had no sound, windows were dirty inside. Some of my photos highlight the above but I have more that can't be uploaded due to a maximum amount.
The swings in the garden are full of moss and the seesaw handle was broken on arrival. The garden has ditches down each side which the river runs in, leading to an opening into the very fast flowing river spey, so young children cannot be left at any time to play in the garden, not even to nip in the kitchen. I dont think this property is suitable for under 6's, and the celler and attic stairs support this! It is also advertised with rod room, on the river spey with a picture of the owner with rod, so we thought we could fish here. Turns out you have to book a weeks fishing on top of the house hire which is not made clear in the description or offered and led to very disappointed children. Instead the house owners had booked the weeks fishing! We complained on the first day and the owner sent the cleaner straight away. But the cleaner moaned it was her day off and tried to make an excuse for everything that was dirty. She even left us a note that we had broke two glasses (which our children did as the glasses were in each bedroom) and the blind as mentioned above (dodgy cord), which we felt was a petty get at us for complaining about the poor cleanliness. The location is lovely, but it is by no means a luxury house, or a house full of character. We will certainly not be returning.
We rent Collie Farmhouse each year as a large group (12). It is exceptionally well appointed and provides a luxurious and very comfortable place to stay in the Spey Valley. We particularly appreciate the two drawing rooms as well as the wonderful dining room. The whole party looks forward to returning each year and we simply cannot recommend collie farmhouse highly enough.the owner and housekeeper are very friendly indeed and cannot do enough to help.
This is a very comfortable rental house that feels much more like a home. Fantastic location and very good size rooms. I was fishing and the river was just down the track. Very good kitchen. The whole house was very cosy and warm. Lovely views and very quiet.
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I recently stayed at Collie for a week with a large group of friends for which it couldnt have been more perfect. The house is in a secluded spot next to the Spey and is packed full of rural charm. We were 10 people for which there was ample space and you are well looked after by the delightful Sandra who comes in every morning.
The surrounding area is packed full of things to do including:
Golf
Canoeing trips down the river
Fishing
Whisky tours around some of the finest distilleries in Scotland
Horse riding
Walking
We did all of the above and consequently didnt have a moment to spare all week. I loved my stay at Collie and will definitely be returning next year.
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I cannot recommend this cosy and charming farmhouse more. The setting is idyllic and the house is incredibly comfortable. There is alot to do in the area such as visits to the local distillery, horse riding, walks on the beach and great golf courses all close by. If you are looking for a homey place to stay, this is your place!
How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
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